Applied to skills in the workplace, the half-life metaphorically describes the time span after which half the value or utility of a skill has been lost due to changes such as technological advancements, market dynamics, or evolving job requirements.

The half-life of a skill used to be estimated to be around 26 years. Recent studies put the half-life of skills at work to be somewhere between 2 years and 5 years.

The implications of that pace of change cannot be understated. That changes the window for talent development and planning from decades to years. Slack for instance is already shutting down for a week just to focus on ramping up on new skills.

Step 1 for the rest of us: become friends with change.